reasonable minimum maintenance - winter commuter

[mig]

i'm dreading the day but soon enough the fixed winter steed will come out of the shed for the months of grind through the dark.

steel frame with a coat of waxoyl, continental winter tyres, 48 x 21, bushed chain, saddlebag, mudguards, generator front hub, lights.

classic!

in years gone by i'd have time at weekends to fettle said beast properly but alas no more.

given maybe half an hour on a saturday afternoon what should i prioritise in terms of keeping it problem free?

[tatanab]

Transmission and brakes.

[PH]

How many miles does it do?
I go into the winter (Not for a good while yet) with a well serviced bike. I doubt I spend half an hour a week maintaining it - keeping it clean is the main thing if the roads have been gritted otherwise there's nothing wrong with a dirty bike! Keep the chain oiled and the brakes adjusted, check fittings aren't loose, check tyres for wear, debris and pressure. Unless something breaks or wears out, what else is there?

[mig]

about 140 per week, main roads and cruddy B roads through rural areas

[rmurphy195]

I would certainly, after every wet ride, at least wipe the chain and spray with oil, simply so that it doesn't rust up overnight. Evan if the roads haven't been salted for a few days you'll still get some salt spray on it.

Something I used to do at the strat of winter was give the hubs a quick spray with WD40, enough for it to creep into the spoke holes (but not the bearings!). A wipe with the stuff around the non-braking part of the rims to keep corrosion at bay eveyr now and again, better still if a tiny bit creeps into the nipples (but not right through to the inner tube).

Then after winter, remove tyre/tube etc and thoroughly clean off the (by now dirty) WD40.

In't olden days (pre WD40) a dab of vaseline here and there might have been used.

[random37]

Good service on everything, then a blast of WD40 after each ride.

WD40 is much maligned. I buy gallon containers of it, and do my campervan as well. Surprisingly capable product.

[iandriver]

Keep chain lube at work. Pick stones out of tyres and check pressures once a week. Do pretty much nothing else unless I spot a problem. Bike keeps rolling...

[mig]

i might go to some sort of thicker chain oil, mainly as the little bottle of whatever it is now is nearly empty. all stuff labelled bike chain lube is an arm and a leg for a mouthful now though.
i might also improve my front mudguard flap from the current 6 inches or so of MTB inner tube. that said it works quite well.
a main thing is the rims though as the front one tends to get eaten as i drag the brake a bit going down a longish hill on a smallish gear. must remember to use the rear brake. keeping them clean is the bogey though.

[Brucey]

brake blocks like these have lips that help to wipe the crud off the rims before the brakes come on full;



which surely helps to avoid rim wear, and can't really do any harm per se. They don't fit every brake though. I have often thought that a little bracket (that could be reset by bending) could be added to any brake block, such that it includes a 'wiper' that contacts the rim just before the brake block does.

Routine winter maintenance (on a bike that has been prepped) mainly comprises of some kind of way of keeping the chain working and keeping the tyres in good shape; the commuting bike will usually be filthy (so bringing it indoors is not popular), and working on it outside in the few hours of weekend daylight doesn't seem right either. I was having this exact conversation with a chum just today and we both agreed that only very grudgingly would more time be spent in the winter maintaining your commuting bike.

For many years I was self-disciplined enough to wash my bike as soon as I got home, every day. This hardly ever made me cold because I'd been riding quite hard until minutes before. The benefit of this was that the bike was beautifully clean every morning, like a new bike. Also, the dirt mostly comes off very easily if it has only just landed (so the wash took five minutes or less) and after it was washed, it was clean enough to bring indoors and do some fettling if required.

One thing I think is a good idea is to have multiple chains on the go; this way a chain can quickly be swapped (for a clean and freshly lubed one) in a few minutes and dirty chains can be processed en masse. So for example if you swap chains once a week and have four or five on the go then a cleaning/lubing session once a month or so is all that is required to keep you in clean chains. This ought to take five minutes a week plus half an hour a month for the clean/lube chain prep session.

cheers

[Greystoke]

Has anyone tried those chain cleaners that fit over your chain and clean it?
I saw one in Lidl the other day for under a tenner. Once a week with that then a re-lube should suffice.
My colleague recommends cv boot grease for his chain, i've always used engine or gear oil.

[StephenW]

How about fitting a chain case? Since I got one a couple of years ago, I have not needed to do anything to the chain. I use my bike almost every day.

[alexnharvey]

What chain case are you using?

[mjr]

Has anyone tried those chain cleaners that fit over your chain and clean it?
I saw one in Lidl the other day for under a tenner. Once a week with that then a re-lube should suffice.

Yes, I tried one. They seem an excellent way of getting degreaser inside the chain and not getting it out again afterwards, resulting in inadequate lubrication and accelerated wear.

How about fitting a chain case? Since I got one a couple of years ago, I have not needed to do anything to the chain. I use my bike almost every day.

Mine kept filling up with sand and silt. I switched to a chainguard ( ^^^^O shape) and I have to do some maintenance but less than on an unguarded chain.

[Greystoke]

I'll continue to clean my chain the old way then, remove, clean in thinners or similar, then leave in a bath of old rally car engine or gear oil, hang to dry, wipe down & refit....sorted

[interestedcp]

I assume here that time is more valuable than money, and that unscheduled maintenance time is much more of a problem than scheduled.

With a commuter bicycle that hasn't been used for a long time, and with such a limited time budget, I would prioritize overall inspection.

I would check if the brakes work properly, and check if the brake blocks would need replacement over the winter. If in doubt, replace them or at least have spares ready. Same with brake cables.
I would lubricate brake pivot points.

Then I would check the wheels:
Pump the tyres and check overall condition like cracks or bulges, and see if the wheel is true. Check if corrosion is an issue with the valves.
Check if there are any obviously loose spokes, and if there are any signs of cracks or bulges around the eyelets. A drop of oil on each eyelet is a good way to prepare the wheel for winter and road salt.
Check the rims for rim wear (do they look concave, indicators worn through) and cracks.
Check the hub bearings for play, and buy spares/schedule maintenance if there is.

Check for play in the crank BB, and schedule a replacement if there is.
Check for play in the pedals, and buy a spare set for quick replacement if there is.

Check the condition of the chain and the chain tension. Having a couple of pre-cut chains would give you flexibility whether to clean or just replace the chain and clean it later.

A quick test of the lights and reflectors, and a quick inspection of the frame for obvious cracks and if the mud guards have become loose. And that is probably all you can do with so little time.

A couple of things that are nice to do, but takes more time; check if the seat post is stuck and if it isn't, if the grease on it is dried up. Once it a seat post has cold welded itself to the frame it can be really nasty to remove. Same with pedals. I have invested in anti-seize paste since just using grease have caused me some problems.